January 10, 2018

Spectrum Health Systems, Inc. has received another three-year accreditation from CARF International for the organization’s state-wide Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Programs (RSAT) in Georgia. CARF accreditation is awarded to providers who meet state-of-the-art national standards of performance. Providers who seek CARF accreditation must demonstrate a commitment to evidence-based practices and continual quality improvement.

Spectrum has maintained continuous CARF accreditation of its RSAT programs in Georgia since 1996, having achieved eight three-year accreditations. Spectrum’s most recent accreditation survey was conducted in November 2017. The survey team cited numerous organizational strengths including Spectrum’s comprehensive staff orientation, training and professional development program, individualized programming, comprehensive re-entry preparation and continuing care planning. Spectrum’s curricula received an exemplary citation.

The survey team commended Spectrum’s accomplishment, noting, “This achievement is an indication of your organization’s dedication and commitment to improving the quality of the lives of the persons served. Services, personnel, and documentation clearly indicate an established pattern of conformance to standards.”

Spectrum currently operates fourteen RSAT programs for the Georgia Department of Corrections and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, serving 2,766 male and female offenders at twelve state facilities across the state, including two integrated treatment programs for offenders with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.

In addition, Spectrum has provided outpatient substance abuse aftercare services for the Georgia Department of Corrections since 2008. Now under the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, group sessions are provided to offenders on probation or parole at 41 community-based locations across the state. Spectrum also operates a five-month intensive residential substance abuse treatment and release preparation program for 80 parolees at a parole detention center for the Department of Community Supervision.

“We’re flattered and humbled to receive such complimentary feedback from the CARF Audit Team,” said Christopher Petrozzi, senior vice president for correctional services at Spectrum Health Systems. “It is a testament to our collaboration with the Department of Corrections, and the daily efforts of our staff whose contributions to behavioral change and public safety occur out of view from the communities they serve. To receive this laudable acknowledgement from our peers is extremely gratifying.”

Spectrum Health Systems operates in-prison treatment programs in four other states across the U.S. To learn more about its corrections work, please visit http://www.spectrumcorrections.org/.

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About Spectrum Health Systems:Based in Worcester, Massachusetts and founded in 1969, Spectrum Health Systems, Inc. is a private, nonprofit substance abuse and mental health treatment provider. In addition to Georgia, Spectrum operates programs in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia and Tennessee – serving more than 80,000 individuals each year. For more information, please visit www.spectrumhealthsystems.org.